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Morgan Jerkins

Biography

Morgan Jerkins

Morgan Jerkins is the New York times bestselling author of THIS WILL BE MY UNDOING: Living at the Intersection of Black, Female, and Feminist in (White) America, WANDERING IN STRANGE LANDS: A Daughter of the Great Migration Reclaims Her Roots, and CAUL BABY. She’s the former senior culture editor at ESPN’s The Undefeated and ZORA Magazine, and she’s a 2021 ASME Next Award Winner for outstanding achievement for journalists under 30 and a Forbes 30 and under 30 leader in Media.

She holds a Bachelor’s in Comparative Literature with an emphasis on late-19th-century Russian literature and post World War II Japanese literature from Princeton University and an MFA in Writing and Literature from the Bennington Writing Seminars.

Jerkins has also held teaching positions at Columbia University, Pacific University, and Leipzig University in Germany.

Morgan Jerkins

Books by Morgan Jerkins

by Morgan Jerkins - Fiction, Magical Realism

Laila desperately wants to become a mother, so she turns to the Melancons, an old and powerful Harlem family known for their caul, a precious layer of skin that is the secret source of their healing power. When a deal for Laila to acquire a piece of caul falls through, she is heartbroken, but when the child is stillborn, she is overcome with grief and rage. What she doesn’t know is that a baby will soon be delivered in her family --- by her niece, Amara --- and delivered to the Melancons to raise as one of their own. Hallow is born with a caul, and their matriarch, Maman, predicts the girl will restore the family’s prosperity. As the Melancons’ thirst to maintain their status grows, Amara, now a successful lawyer running for district attorney, looks for a way to avenge her longstanding grudge against the family.